What India can learn from Norway

The Central Zone bench (Bhopal) of National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently ordered all producers and manufactures of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan to set up collection centres and take back systems for discarded electronic goods. There is only one e-waste collection centre in the whole of Madhya Pradesh. The situation is no different for most of the states of the country.

EPR (extended producer responsibility) is the most defining provision in the e-waste regulation of our country. According to EPR, manufacturers are responsible for the post-consumer waste of their respective EEE products. The e-waste rules were notified in 2011 and came into effect in 2012.

Where did we go wrong?
A recent study by non-profit Toxics Link found out that despite having a take back system in place, it does not function for most brands. “India being a vast country, setting up collection mechanism is a big challenge. If any of the brands try individually to reach out to all corners of the country, it will economically not be sustainable or feasible,” says Priti Mahesh, senior programme coordinator, Toxics Link. Another major question in e-waste management in India is how to include thousands of producers and importers under the ambit of regulation.

Take back of e-waste
India can take a cue from Norway which has e-waste take back system in place for more than a decade now. When the e-waste rules were introduced in Norway, the country faced similar questions. The Ministry of Environment in Norway signed an agreement to set up take back companies with the producers and importers of electronic waste as early as 1998. It was a voluntary agreement and was later followed by an e-waste regulation in 1999. Like the rules in India, management of e-waste in Norway is also a producer responsibility and producers are defined as Norwegian manufacturers and importers of EEE.

“EPR implementation in Norway mandates the domestic producers and importers to finance the e-waste collection and treatment systems. The financing can happen individually or collectively,” says Silje Johanssen, an advisor with Section for Waste and Biocides, Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA). Silje explains that producers/importers of e-waste in Norway are obliged to be members of a take-back company and have to pay a fee for their membership to the take-back companies. This is how it provides the funding for collection and treatment of the waste. India does not have any data on the electronics being manufactured and imported in the country. There is no national registry taking account of the producers operating in the country and the amount of EEE introduced by them in the market.

Since 1999, when reporting on the collection of e-waste was initiated in Norway, the collection rate has risen steadly. More than 143,790 tonnes was collected in 2012. In 2013, the collection increased to 146,018 tonnes. It is true that it is difficult for individual producers to fulfill all the parameters prescribed in the legislation, but they can do it at ease as a collective organisation. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has given a deadline of May 26, 2015 to three states (MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan) to comply with the order. It is to be seen how the stakeholders, who turned a blind eye to the rules, will conform to this order.